The Drive: Custom Cars and Their Builders
I’m sure by now most of you have seen this book doing the media rounds, especially since I’m a bit late to the party (but what did you expect?!). I’ll admit I was incredibly surprised when I received an invitation to review a copy. I hadn’t read any of the other reviews, but I do remember the same publisher putting out a different book called Speed Kings that I never got around to ordering, so I was very interested in this new title.
When it arrived I was taken back by the sheer scale and weight of this thing. It’s no lightweight, let me tell you. When you stack it up, it’s the size of 4 good magazines. Not those crappy tabloid style magazines, I’m talking proper high quality mags.
Once you stop running your hand over the matted cover stock and blue foil masthead, you’re greeted by a full spread of fluro orange, as if you shock and reset your senses to get you ready for what you’re about to see. When you get into the content, you’ll notice that all of the big names are here. Magnus Walker, Rod Emory, Liberty Walk, Ken Block, Nigel Petrie, RWB, Ed Roth, The Ring Brothers, and a whole heap more. I also got a kick out of seeing a few previous Build-Threads featured cars make the cut, like Mike’s Ghia and Aaron’s Cuda.
If all of those names are familiar to you, you’re not alone. If you read blogs like Speedhunters, then many of these cars and builders would have already graced your eyeballs.
When I had a quick browse through the pages, I was taken back by how many I’d seen before. I was like “Hey, I’ve seen these cars before!” But I hadn’t seen them in print, and the more pages I turned, the more I appreciated that fact.
The difference between digital and print is never more apparent than when you turn to a full bleed photo like the one above. It just can’t be replicated online.
This isn’t just a picture book. Each feature has not only an editorial, but tech specs to go along with it.
The Drive does a great job of mixing all genres of car builds, from JDM to low riders, rally cars to hot rods, off-road to salt flat racers, and everything in between.
In a world of ever decreasing attention spans and digital information that disappears as quickly as it’s created, I consider this book to be a tangible snapshot of the current custom car scene.
I know I personally don’t save any of the 100′s of images I see on my phone/tablet/desktop each day, but this book is something I’ll cherish forever.
When I was growing up my dad had car books around the house for me, you know the type, massive car encyclopedias, and I read them all the time. Now my own son (and future children) will have their own version of that, but instead of standard supercars from a particular error, they’ll get to see the best custom cars in the world, frozen in time.
My verdict? This book is worth a lot more than the cover charge. If you’re a magazine tragic like I am, and love the feel/look/smell of printed media, you’ll want to get your hands on a copy.
You can order your own copy of The Drive from Gestaleten by clicking here.